The Will To Be Human
by Angel of Apricots
Summary: Jyushimatsu hasn't come home yet. When the five brothers find him, they thought that he just had a run-in with some yakuzas. But they realize something seemed off about the fifth brother. Then there's a certain jerk who claims to be his replacement. Now they're stuck in a situation in which Jyushi's life is on the line, and they'd have to combine their shittyness to save him.
1. Chapter 1

_Good god_.

Where the hell was Jyushimatsu? He had never stayed out this late before, especially when the sun had already set, since Jyushi wasn't fond of the coldness of the night. Scratch that, Jyushi absolutely _loathed_ the cold, and the only reason he liked winter was because of Christmas and the fact that they could all play in the snow together. When exposed to the cold for too long, Jyushi had a tendency to throw a large temper tantrum that sometimes resorted to violence, but just give him about six bowls of hot soup and he'd fall asleep on someone's lap and calm down, probably.

At least, for a good week before he'd start throwing another tantrum.

Jyushi loved the warmth and loved going outside if the weather is good. He loved the sun, but he didn't love the moon any less. Maybe it was because he was sunny himself and his energy came from the sun itself. Even at night during his slumber, he would often cause a ruckus by snoring louder than anyone else in the room.

The five Matsuno brothers, red leader and eldest brother Osomatsu, blue and cringe-inducing Karamatsu, green and reliable Choromatsu, purple and slightly creepy Ichimatsu, and pink and two-faced Todomatsu, all ate their dinner in silence seeing as the excitable fifth brother wasn't present to talk about random topics that the others would often listen to or add something into it. Ichi had suggested to fill up Jyushi's yellow bowl with some food and cover it in plastic, so they didn't have to worry about the fifth brother starving because the last thing they wanted was to cook in the middle of the night when Jyushi had decided to finally come home. They also didn't want to argue with Ichi, since they knew that the fourth brother was really close to the fifth brother.

Dinner finished, dishes washed, everyone was doing their own thing before bed time.. _still_ no Jyushimatsu. His yellow bowl containing food and covered in plastic to avoid the food from tasting awful was set on the table, plastic yellow chopsticks set on the top of the bowl. Beside it sat an empty traditional japanese cup with the number five scribbled on the side in yellow marker, signifying it was Jyushi's.

Oso was reading a manga book on the table, with Totty's arms on the same table as he scrolled through his social media accounts on his phone. Kara was polishing his trademark sun glasses with utmost care, and Choro was just watching the news while nibbling on a cracker coated in chocolate. Ichi was in the corner of the room playing with an orange cat they came to know as ESP Kitty, despite not having his abilities as a truth-detecting cat anymore. ESP Kitty wasn't their's, but was one of the outside cats that Ichi fed. Pretty much the one who visited the most too, especially after Jyushi found him on the alley way after Ichi had told him to get lost.

When it was time for lights out, it was obvious that every single one of the brothers, especially Ichi, were trying really hard to pretend they weren't worried in the slightest about the hyperactive brother of their's. Jyushi was always the one to dive under the covers before they all slipped under, so setting the futon without Jyushi jumping in and swimming around was a bit.. disturbing, for a lack of better term. Choro had casually set Jyushi's pillow next to his, mind drifting to the thought of the second youngest in some sort of trouble.

No no. It was best not to worry. Kara had been "kidnapped" by Chibita once, only to return in the next morning with multiple injuries, but still alive, nonetheless. Jyushi got bruises and injuries often, both by accident and the others? Well.. Jyushi wasn't the most well-liked in their old schools. Choro was ashamed to admit that Jyushi was the least liked in the group of sextuplets. But then again, who liked the sextuplets as friends anyway? They were considered weirdos, creepy in their childhood. Just because they looked alike.. at least their changes started showing in middle school, but they were still disliked due to their closeness with each other. It was damn impossible to befriend one of the sextuplets if you weren't friends with the other five.

As for actual friends.. Totoko just needed them to fawn over her, but she could be caring for them when situation called. She just wasn't interested in any of the sextuplets. Chibita was probably a friend, but mostly a rival. Iyami was a bother. Oso and Choro agreed to never let themselves, especially Jyushi, to go to Professor Dekapan for odd request; because the last time that professor was mentioned, Jyushi's.. bottom area seemed a "bit".. off. And he was crying too, so no way. Dayon was, um.. okay, they guessed. Weird, but didn't seem to carry any ill feelings towards the six brothers. Hatabou, too. He was a good friend. Still wondered what the meat was, though.

They wondered why they were hated by many. Was Oso too blunt and too relaxed? Was Kara too cringe-inducing and flashy? Was Choro too annoying and fussy? Was Ichi too creepy and quiet? Was Jyushi too hyper and loud? Was Totty too sassy and snobby? They all had insecurities one way or another. But as sextuplets, they understood each other better than most people, maybe even their parents too. They made a few acquaintances in high school, one of the worst parts of their lives, but Jyushi.. Jyushi joined the baseball team, always offered assistance when needed, was really nice to the students and staff alike. What was there to hate about him?

The more Choro thought about it, the more he realized that Jyushi was the kindest brother. If there was a stylish brother, a social butterfly, a leader, a calm and level-headed one, a logical one, a two-faced one, a neat-freak, a cringe-y one.. there was bound to be a kind one in the sextuplets. Jyushi was the kind one, as a child, and even as an adult. And since he was kind, he was easily manipulated by others into doing whatever they told him to. In return, they would bully him into submission and threaten him to not tell the other five brothers about it. Jyushi was the Matsuno that had inhuman strength, but each Matsuno brother was really strong and could fight for their own. While Jyushi _could_ fight.. he just.. didn't want to hurt anyone unless they hurt his brothers. He could defend himself, but not by fighting. He just couldn't bring himself to hurt any of his brothers or anyone in general.

Choro remembered it like it was just yesterday.. the day when they all found out about how important their bonds as brothers were.

 _Jyushi had kept his promise and didn't tell anyone about the bullying, but while walking to their respective classrooms the other day, Ichi had just stopped everyone and had asked them to help him stalk Jyushi for the entire day. While Choro and Totty weren't keen on the idea of skipping classes, Oso and Kara coaxed them, since Jyushi had been acting weird for the past couple of days._

 _Sure enough, Ichi's instincts were right, just as they feared._

 _As soon as Jyushi stepped inside the classroom, the entire class seemed to have prepared a birthday party; but instead of cakes and balloons, buckets and bottles of foul-smelling liquid were hurled at him and left him drenched in what didn't seem to be regular sewer water. The class hollered with laughter as Jyushi stood in the front door, trying his hardest not to cry and nervously twiddling with his fingers as some of them choked on their own laughter. Then he started crying, covering his face in shame. And the class laughed louder._

 _A little snap was heard on the background after some of them managed to stop laughing but continuously pointed and snickered, and Jyushi realized Choro had appeared out of nowhere and was holding his hand as tight as he could, maintaining a stoic face as the other four came rushing in the classroom without hesitation._

 _The cheeky smiles and mocking laughter the students made disappeared instantly, as Oso made a demonic grin that was creepy enough to rival Ichi's, and rubbed a finger on the bridge of his nose. Ichi didn't look like he was planning on calming down either, and one of Jyushi's harder baseball bats that had nails on them were on hand. Why'd he bring that? Maybe he was really worried and decided to stalk him today, even without the help of his brothers. Totty had a shovel he picked up on the way to the classroom, as a member of the gardening club, as well as some of the hardest and thickest books Choro had borrowed from the library. Kara and Oso clearly needed nothing, cracking knuckles and all. Compared to the three demonic brothers' fake and creepy smiles, Kara had made it known he was absolutely furious._

 _It had been a hectic day that time, but Choro was glad he was considered the mother hen of the group; he only needed to bring Jyushi to the bath, offer him one of their uniforms (sextuplets had the advantage of being the same size and having multiple copies of the same clothing), buy him a drink from the vending machine, and let him cry his eyes out as he rubbed his back soothingly. That was back in the days when Jyushi didn't smile as wide as he did, back when he was the kind and plain silly member of the group. Choro was still the fussy one in their group, especially once they entered high school. So they sat on one of the benches in the school garden as Jyushi told him about everything, Choro getting more and more furious as he heard what his brother had been going through._

 _When Choro had reluctantly lead Jyushi back to his classroom, still holding his hand, the classroom seemed to have quieted down. Students were shifting in their seats, both a teacher and a nurse had entered the room, and four of the Matsuno brothers were on the back of the room while they still held their respective "weapons" in hand. Ichi had the baseball bat, Totty had the shovel, Kara was holding the books Choro loaned to Totty, and Oso was standing there with arms behind his back, grinning widely despite some of the bruises they all had received. Seeing as how all students had either a black eye, a missing tooth, or a very visible swollen cheek or eye, it seemed the brothers had won._

 _The teacher was the adviser of Jyushi's class, so naturally she wasn't happy when five students from a different classroom went to her class and managed to take on an entire class by themselves. She had bought in the nurse, but thanks to the explanation of Kara and Totty about how her students were ganging up on the friendless and helpless one, she couldn't argue against them; an entire class against four really strong brothers wasn't a fair fight. But every single one of the Matsuno brothers were strong as hell. Choro was a bit amused as Jyushi finally let go of his hand, burst into tears, and run to the four of his brothers and hug them as he babbled on apologies on how everything was his fault. Choro had been invited by the eldest Matsuno brother to join the group hug as they celebrated their victory._

 _Their bond as brothers were stronger than steel. They didn't care if they were made fun at for having a large group hug in their fifth brother's classroom. It was proof that if you messed with one Matsuno, you messed with every single one of them. Jyushi's head had been buried under Ichi's neck, knowing he was the one that had planned all of this. Totty had hugged Jyushi from the side with his cute cat-like smile as he repeatedly told him none of it was his fault. Oso, Kara and Choro, as the older trio, had formed a circle and hugged the younger trio with content smiles. And Ichi? He was the one gently running his fingers through his younger brother's hair, a rare smile on his face._

 _It had been common sense to the entire school since that day; do not mess with any of the Matsunos._

Choro realized he was reminiscing about the past and Totty had shut off the lights long ago. But he could feel that none of his brothers were really asleep. Ichi had his back turned to all of them, Kara's wide open eyes twitched continuously, Totty was under the blankets as he fumbled with his phone, Oso had his arms behind his neck as he sighed heavily.. all of them were worried. The last time they worried this much about the fifth brother this much.. was the night before Oso, Kara, Ichi, and Totty attacked the students in Jyushi's classroom.

Ichi sat up finally, back still turned to them. "I'm gonna go look for him. He doesn't stay out this late at night. He must have run into some trouble." He mumbled. Oso was chuckling on how hard Ichi was seemingly telling them without care, but it was almost like he wanted them to hear. "I'm not implying anything, but if any of you want to join me, go ahead. It's not like any of you could sleep anyway."

That phrase sounds familiar, Choro thought. And then it hit him.

 _"I'm worried about him. He isn't that quiet and behaved.. unless something is bothering him. I think his trashbag classmates might be bullying him.. or scaring him." Ichi mumbled, carelessly dropping his bag to the floor as Jyushi had run off to his own classroom. All four brothers looked at Ichi with worry. "I'm.. asking if you guys could just drop your classes for the day. Mom would understand. Jyushi isn't the type to run for help when he's in trouble."_

Without hesitation, all brothers turned on the light, slipped off from their pajama tops and pants, slipped on their usual color-coded hoodies and pants, and layered their colored coats over, as well as bringing Jyushi's coat. Quietly, they sneaked out of the Matsuno household as they agreed to head to the locations where Jyushi could be.


	2. Chapter 2

It was so damn cold. Jyushi would probably hate the cold, wherever he is. But he was used to the night breeze thankfully, and didn't complain much about the coolness of the summer night. To him, winter was way worse. Especially a blizzard. That was how much Jyushi hated the cold; he could immediately become violent and somewhat odd, but as said earlier, warm him up a bit, and he'd be fine for a week. Bundling him in blankets was only a temporary "cure"; he'd probably turn into a giant ball of blankets and bounce all over the place. He did it once, whose to say he wouldn't do so again?

The five Matsuno brothers had sneaked out of the house and had prayed that their parents didn't notice, since they didn't want to be in trouble for not even leaving a note in the disheveled futon. They were all in their usual color-coded hoodies and coats they often wore during a trip to and from the bathhouse, with Jyushi's in the possession of Ichi. They just wandered through the streets with determined expressions, though they were thankful for the lampposts offering light. If there wasn't any light, they could have all groaned at the thought of running back to the house and grabbing flashlights. Thankfully, Totty's phone had everything; from social media applications, to games, to necessities such as flashlights.

They had taken a turn at Chibita's oden stand, which was closed. Kara told them that Chibita probably went home already, and bothering him at night was a really bad idea. If they didn't want to get tied up to poles like they were witches back in the old days, it's probably best to not bother the self proclaimed king of oden.

They also went to Totoko, but her mother had informed them she was asleep already. When asked about Jyushi, she sadly replied she hasn't seen the yellow sextuplet all day. They thanked her before leaving as she bid them a good night. They knew that Jyushi doesn't go to Totoko's without the company of the other brothers, but they didn't want to risk it.

Then to Iyami, who dismissed them as soon as he heard Oso's voice, but with a little collar-grabbing by an already pissed off and sleep-deprived Ichi, he sputtered out that, he too, hadn't seen the energetic Matsuno. While Ichi could have let go of Iyami, Oso had told him to keep on holding the con-man's collar until he was sure that Iyami wasn't lying.

Professor Dekapan was visited after Iyami, and Choro didn't like the idea of visiting the same man who managed to make the lower area of Jyushi's body seem way too "off". But the professor was the one who had allowed Jyushi to stay during their "two weeks of separation and failure at independence", so out of all Matsunos, Jyushi was the one that probably met up with him more than once.

Sadly, everyone had the same answer with a different version. Totoko's mother was "I haven't seen Jyushimatsu-kun all day, I'm sorry really.", Iyami's was "Sheeeeh! You stupid sextuplets! Framing me for kidnapping one of you? I haven't seen any of you troublesome sextuplets up until now!", and Professor Dekapan's was "I'm sorry, but Jyushimatsu hasn't passed by or anything. Do tell him that I've improvised the medicine he asked for months ago!". As if Choro would let Jyushi get pumped with steroids again. No way in hell.

The five brothers sighed in unison, even Ichi. Totty just said that it was already one in the morning, pretty much the latest time they've been outside wandering like lost puppies. Drat. If they don't get home soon, their mother would freak out on the disappearances of all her NEETs. Dad probably wouldn't care as much, since he was the only one who acknowledges the fact that they're actually adults. But they weren't going to give up; Oso and Choro's natural big brother instincts wouldn't disappear easily, as well as Kara's, who was shifting left to right in intense worry. Totty would freak about it in social media, and he's probably scrolling through his gallery to find a clear picture of Jyushi that could be used for a "missing" person poster. Ichi seemed to remain composed, but they knew he was screaming internally as he gripped Jyushi's coat tightly.

Still, they couldn't go back to the house without Jyushi in tow. "Have we tried the park yet?" Oso asked his slightly younger brothers. They already asked close acquaintances, with the exceptions of Chibita, Hatabou, and Dayon. As stated earlier, Chibita was probably sleeping at this time of the night. Hatabou was still awake managing his company. And Dayon probably wouldn't offer an understandable question. "Let's go. If we can't find him, we'd have to call the night."

Ichi wanted to argue with that, but seeing his brothers look tired made him feel bad. He silently agreed with Oso and followed him as he lead the park. This was almost like when they were children, when Oso would be the leader for their shenanigans and would be the one to call the shots. If not him, it was Choro. And when they needed to be split into pairs, their partner was their total opposite. Not that Ichi minded, since their "partner" during their childhood days became the brother closest to them.

Oso and Choro were the leaders, with Oso being the much more adventurous spirit, while Choro was the logical one. Then there was Totty and Kara. Totty was two-faced, but pretty blunt of things that needed to be said, while Kara was a kind guy hiding under a "cool" facade, keeping things polite and civilized. Of course, pessimistic and always frowning Ichi was partnered with optimistic and wide-smiling Jyushi.

In truth, the brothers were worried for Jyushi, so they wanted so badly to see him at the park. They either expected him to not be in the park that would result to their disappointment, or actually be in the park, while swinging his bat multiple times in a row. But as they walked, Oso couldn't help but feel a dread in his stomach. As well as Choro, Ichi, Kara, and Totty. There was something about the area that seemed so dark, darker than that aura that Ichi often gave off. Oso tried to shrug it off and remain calm for his brothers; Totty seemed irked and was hiding behind Choro in fear, Kara was looking around frantically, Ichi still maintained his composure while sweating anxiously, and Oso was trying to regulate his breathing.

But then, they found a familiar body lying on the side of the park, just near the playground. A dirtied yellow hoodie, slightly bloodied shorts, ripped-up socks, yellow slippers on the other side of the playground, and what caught their attention most was the snapped-in-half baseball bat that was held by a hand hidden under a long sleeve. Eyes shut tight, hair messier than Ichi's, smile not present.. god, was he even breathing?

It was Jyushi.

Covered in bruises head to toe was the fifth brother, the sunny and hyperactive one, lying on the park grounds unconscious as if he was a limp rag doll.

Choro was the first to react, as the "motherly" type of the group. He ran as fast as he could to Jyushi's side and tried to wake him up, Ichi following soon after. With a shaking hand and a panicked expression, Choro grabbed Jyushi by the shoulders and shook him in order to see a reaction from his younger brother. Ichi's eyes seemed to be shaking with absolute worry, and he let Choro frantically try to wake him up. Despite being the second to react to the entire thing, he was still in shock. "Jyushi?! Jyushimatsu?! Hey! It's Choromatsu! It's Choromatsu and your brothers! Wake up! Please! Jyushimatsu!"

Oso, Kara, and Totty nodded to each other and followed their other two brothers. Totty's thumb pressed a multitude of buttons on his phone as he ran towards the panicking brothers, his brown beanie slightly falling off from his head. Choro stopped shaking Jyushi as soon as Oso placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling the third brother to calm down before he accidentally knocked Jyushi's head off. Kara took Jyushi from Choro and gently placed the fifth brother's head on his lap as he analyzed the bruises he had. Ichi still gripped onto the coat tightly, eyes trembling and focused on his younger brother.

Kara placed a hand on Jyushi's cheek, flinching at how cool the skin was. He may have kept his cool compared to a certain brother, but he was panicking to the point he needed to drop his poetic vocabulary and cool-guy act. His brothers preferred him to speak like an actual human being from modern times instead of speaking like he came straight out of something made by Shakespeare. "He's really cold. Ichimatsu, the coat please." Kara said with his voice soft and worried, glancing at Ichi.

Ichi nodded and handed him Jyushi's coat, in which Totty helped Kara to put it on Jyushi. He noticed that he also had bruises on his arms, which were trying to remain covered by the long sleeves of his own hoodie, which had tears on them. Kara made a mental note to sew his hoodie later; besides Totty, he was the only one who could sew, but Totty admitted that Kara did it faster and better.

"So, what now? We found him, but should we bring him to the hospital?" Ichi finally found his voice and asked the question to his brothers.

"It doesn't look like it's too severe. Those bruises could be from tripping over constantly. Maybe he passed out of exhaustion? I mean, mom did say Jyushimatsu-niisan didn't eat snacks earlier. He could have passed out from hunger." Totty chimed in, trying to calm everyone down to spare Oso from breaking down too. "Do.. do we need to call an ambulance? I mean, I got the number here, should I call-"

"No need, Totty." Oso interjected. "He's cold, slightly injured, but doesn't look like it's too serious. We should just bring him home and treat him ourselves. Bringing him to the hospital'll cause us time, money, and a multitude of questions from mom and dad. And we all know how much we have problems with the last two."

"But there's a chance he could have gotten hit in the head by an old highschool bully! Or worse, a yakuza! Our neighborhood has a lot of those too!" Choro cried in a distressed fashion. He was the only one openly showing how scared he was for the health of the sunny brother. "This is bad! Did we make any recent enemies this week? Ichimatsu, you played with Jyushi two days ago! Did you happen to see anyone who looked like they had a grudge with us?! No? Karamatsu! You and Jyushi go to the rooftop to sing almost every afternoon! Did anyone cast you dirty looks?! Totty-"

"Chill out, Chorofappyski!" Oso smacked his younger brother on the head. Picking up the broken baseball bat and making a frown, he simply jerked a thumb to the nearby bench. Ichi noted it as the same bench he sat on when ESP Kitty ran away. Totty looked confused for a moment, before realizing that Oso was gesturing for him to bring Choro over to the bench. "Kara, you and Ichi bring Jyushi home. No way in hell are we going there with Chorofappyski here flipping out. The three of us," He pointed to Totty and Choro, who were both on the bench. "Will stop by the convenience store. I doubt we have enough bandages or rubbing alcohol at home. We'll get a midnight snack too, if it helps Fappymatsu calm the fuck down. Capiche?" Oso grinned.

Ah yes. The joy of being an older brother; ordering around the younger siblings and getting his way as the eldest brother. To his happiness, everyone but Choro nodded in understanding. Totty was still trying to calm Choro down, Kara was about to lift Jyushi up, and Ichi was giving a look to Kara, threatening to kill him if he accidentally drops Jyushi. Still, Ichi seemed to agree with Oso's solution instead of simply debating on what to do at the park.

"Set him down at the futon once we get home, and make sure to take his temperature to see if he's sick. Karamatsu-niisan said he was cold." Totty told Oso from the bench as he harshly held Choro by his hair. It seemed the third brother was calming down now. "You guys be careful on the way back. And Karamatsu-niisan." He cast a dirty look on Kara, who was now carrying Jyushi in his arms. At least not in a piggyback style, since carrying him like that seemed safer. "Please don't drop him. We don't want both you and Jyushi hurt from injuries."

"We will be fine, my brother! I will not let anything harm our sunshine of a brother!" Kara said in a dramatic fashion so painful that Ichi resisting the urge to tear his face off with his bare hands. Tearing Kara's face off required effort, and doing so might result to Ichi passing out from sleep deprivation and Jyushi being dropped. "Let us head on our way, Ichimatsu."

Ichi grunted in response, though the brothers swore they heard him mutter something about "Shittymatsu".

As the two of them left the park with the unconscious Jyushi in Kara's arms, Totty sighed in exasperation and mentally thanked the goods for calming Choro down as soon as the three brothers were out of sight. The third brother was now breathing harshly, no longer screaming, but still panicking with constant fidgeting and nail-biting. Gross.

As the straight-man of the Matsuno sextuplets, he was more logical and considered much more human compared to Jyushi. And since they all had "roles" in their team of sextuplets, they also needed to have that one person that was fussy and like a broken recorder, someone that could be dependable and the supposed parent of the team. Choro knew he was the only one fitted for the role, and even if the brothers were oblivious, Choro carried that title with pride. He was the mature one! He was the one that had to step in and be the voice for the sextuplets!

And what'd he do? Panicked like a maniac.

"You're okay now, Choromatsu-niisan?" Asked Totty, adjusting his brown beanie. Oso watched over the two from the same area where they found Jyushi's body, eyeing the broken baseball bat that lay on the floor. "We're all worried about Jyushimatsu-niisan too, but you're the one who has to keep your sense of judgement! Your instincts went crazy!"

"Yeah, and all he did was scream like Hatabou shoved a thicker flag pole up his ass. Not like there's something wrong about having a flag pole up your ass, since it'd be weirder if you actually _liked_ it." Osomatsu approached them, broken baseball bat in hand. He was probably referring to Ichi and Jyushi during the aftermath of Hatabou's birthday party. Who the hell yells "Wahoo!" when a flag literally gets shoved right up their ass?

Choro looked away from the eldest brother, embarrassed about his behavior earlier and trying to rebuild his slightly damaged pride. "I know, I know! But you do know that Jyushi wasn't the most liked person back in high school, right?!"

"So what? No one liked us sextuplets. Totoko, Chibita, Hatabou, and I guess even Iyami, they count as friends to us now, don't they? Plus, why would they still hold a grudge over Jyushi all this time, especially since we're out of high school? They don't have to bother us if they don't like us. Why'd they bother Jyushi if all he does is play and wreck shit that belongs to us? It's not like he's bothering anyone." Oso asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Osomatsu-niisan is right, for once." Totty added in.

"Oso-" Choro tried to speak, but Oso shushed him by speaking up next.

Oso made a mocking hurt expression, hand to his chest almost as if Totty stabbed him with the harsh truth. Were they even having the same conversation, or it already shifted to something else? "Ow ow ow! Oi, Totty! Don't go and be mean to your eldest brother! It hurts my pride as the oldest brother, y'know?"

Yup. The conversation had a different topic. That's Osomatsu-niisan for you; short attention spans and hurt expressions with mediocre acting. Kara was better, in all honesty. "Totty-" Choro was once again interrupted, this time, by Totty.

Totty only shrugged, unfazed and slightly cringed at his eldest brother's horrible acting. "Only by a few minutes, Osomatsu-niisan. I sometimes feel like I'm the eldest because I'm literally the only one here that can act acceptable to society! Besides Choromatsu-niisan, that is. Maaaaan.. can't believe Jyushimatsu-niisan's older than me. I was probably going to be the second youngest, but maybe Jyushimatsu-niisan, even as a baby, had came out first because of his energy and basically 'outrun' me?" Wondered Totty. That'd make perfect sense!

Can you even outrun an infant, when you yourself, are also an infant? Questions, questions. "Yeah, that could be it-"

"Osomatsu-niisan, Todomatsu, just listen to me!" Choro suddenly snapped. "Jyushi is hated by our old classmates! They still do! I hear them gossiping about us whenever I go to the grocery shop or bookstore! They're everywhere in the city, not in our neighborhood thankfully, but they're still here! And do you really think that just because we're out of high school, they won't bother us anymore?!" He clenched his fists. "I know we dismiss it as something small! 'Jyushi can fight for himself, Chorofappyski! You're worrying too much!'" He mocked Osomatsu's voice. "He doesn't fight unless one of us, or someone else, is in danger!"

After he stopped his rant and was left to regulate his breathing, Totty looked worriedly at Oso, wishing that he and Choro wouldn't fight at a time like this.

To his surprise, Oso merely grinned and did his signature gesture; rubbing his nose with his finger. "There could be a chance he did protect someone. A cat? A pretty hot chick? Hatabou or some other guy who can't fight without a weapon or a flag pole to stick up someone's ass? You gotta think up these things, Choro." Though if it was Hatabou that got harassed, the guy probably won't leave Jyushi to probably die. Oso knew that Hatabou was a nice guy. "But if someone did mess with Jyushi, well.." He grinned at Totty, in which the youngest made a catty and sneaky smile.

"Even out of school, it's basically common sense to never mess with any of the Matsuno brothers. We'll hunt down whoever hurt Jyushimatsu-niisan! I wonder if they'll even wake up after we finish kicking their asses." Totty said his line with confidence. "Chorofappyski-niisan, we'll just ask Jyushimatsu-niisan after he wakes up. For now, let's get some supplies and snacks."

"Will you stop calling me 'Chorofappyski', what even is that.." Choro sighed. "I guess you're right.. watching over you guys is stressing me out a bit." He rubbed his forehead.

"Good! C'mon then! We shouldn't keep Karamatsu and Ichimatsu waiting!" Oso snickered, then took out something that looked way too familiar for Choro's tastes. Totty tilted his head in confusion before he finally realized what Oso was holding up; it was a small coin purse with a certain idol's face. A Nyaa-chan purse, specifically bought by Karamatsu Matsuno specifically for his younger brother, Choromatsu Matsuno.

In short, Oso was in possession of Choro's money at the moment. The third brother tried to grab it. "So that's where my coin purse went! You stupid eldest brother! Where'd and when'd you get that?! Give it back!"

"Hide it somewhere less obvious, Fappymatsu." Oso whistled while he casually threw and grabbed the coin purse over and over. "Since you were such a loudmouth this evening, I've decided to use your money in order to get our supplies! Akatsuka-sensei wouldn't want you to choose your money over your little brother! We're gonna have to use it to buy supplies to treat Jyushi's bruises, plus some snacks we've promised."

"Did you just use Akatsuka-sensei to justify the fact that you stole my money?! Wait, how long have you had my coin purse?! How much did you spend?!"

"Not yet, really. I haven't thought of using this for Pachinko yet. I mean, I only got it like, two days ago? Or was it three? Eh, doesn't matter. Money's gotta go somewhere, right?" Oso replied. "But let's use it for supplies now. As sextuplets that Akatsuka-sensei created, we're supposed to look out for one another-"

"Stop using Akatsuka-sensei to make your statements sound less flawed!"

Totty sighed as Oso ran from the park to the nearest convenience store, with Choro wildly raising his fists in the air whilst screaming at how much of a piece of shit his older brother was. "That's brothers for you, I guess. Can't say I'm completely normal from them both." Totty muttered to himself. "At the end of the day, even if I hate how embarrassing they all are.. can't be helped. They're my brothers."


	3. Chapter 3

The walk back home for Kara and Ichi consisted of deafening silence, anxious sweating, Jyushi stirring in his state of unconsciousness which caused both older brothers to run home instead of walk, and having to stay outside the house for two minutes, realizing that the lights in the house were turned on. They didn't turn on the lights when they left, so that meant only one thing; the parents had awoken to an empty room with equally empty futons, tossed out pajamas, a closet that missed a few color coded hoodies, pants, and coats, and missing footwear. And they were probably waiting for their sons to return so they could pull their ears and give them a lecture.

Well, shit. How are they going to explain this to their mom and dad? Ichi would have told Kara to just get on with it, but every brother knew what kind of punishment would be set for them if they sneaked out late at night. Kara adjusted his hold on Jyushi as one of his hands stroked his brothers hair carefully, he and Ichi thinking of a shitty lie to come up with to present to their parents. Truth to be told, both Ichi and Kara were considered honest, alongside Jyushi. The three of them were the only ones in the family who could never lie; Ichi, because he accepted himself as utter garbage, Kara, because he loved his family and didn't want to deceive them, and Jyushi, because he was a naive ball of sunshine who pretty much didn't know how to lie for his own self-gain.

As far as Ichi was concerned, the only time Jyushi ever lied was saying he was okay when Oso kicked him to the wall. Ichi may have prevented himself from marching up to Oso for Jyushi's defense, but Kara had done it for him and straight-up punched the eldest brother for being a bitter piece of shit. Oso had taken the couch that night, Choro had been in the middle with Totty and Jyushi in both his sides, Kara beside Totty and Ichi beside Jyushi. But Jyushi had clung onto Ichi that night as he whimpered and cried how painful it felt.

If it was Totty, Ichi would have let him clung onto him for a few minutes, since Totty preferred clinging to Choro, Jyushi, or even Kara when in pain. If it was Choro, Ichi wouldn't even face his older brother. Kara, that much was obvious, he'd shove him away and drag Totty to him since he and the pink-wearing Matsuno were as close as Choro was to Oso and as Ichi was to Jyushi. He'd never let any of his brothers hug or hold him by the arm without permission, and if they did, he'd most likely growl at them.

But for Jyushi, he'd let himself be a pillow for his sake.

Ichi and Jyushi were close, that much was obvious. Ichi would let Jyushi get away with things he wouldn't let the others brothers get away with, such as spoon-feeding him a parfait, dragging him to some professor's just so he could talk with cats, tie him up to a bat and swing him over a thousand times, and even choke him during his cold-hating temper tantrums. Ichi probably felt like he didn't have anymore reason to stay at the household once Jyushi had anxiously left for a part-time job, hence why he left the house and only came back once Oso found him in an alleyway and claimed that they were invited for a baseball tournament, with Totty, Kara, and Jyushi in tow.

But thank god, those days were over. Back to being shitty-ass NEETs who had to depend on each other because they literally couldn't be a team without all of them together! Ichi had to live on the streets for two weeks and would have probably suffered from some sickness due to starvation on the ninth day too, if not for a certain couple buying him enough food to last for a few days up until Oso found him. Ichi also noticed Jyushi's arm acting a bit funny that time, with Oso claiming Jyushi threw away his cast the moment he barged in Professor Dekapan's lab. Sure enough, Ichi had been a bit worried, but Jyushi assured him it was fine, which was proven by how the hyper brother managed to attempt murder during the baseball match.

Kara didn't seem to be having an easy time as of now. "How do we do this." Kara repeated to himself. It was more of a statement than a question, really. Even with Jyushi in his arms like a baby and with Ichi beside him as the fourth brother frequently made his dark aura stronger in order to pressure Kara into barging in, he still needed to think about the results. "If we tell the truth, mother and father would freak out and possibly ground us. If we lie, they'd either figure it out and freak out then ground us for lying, or freak out immediately because we lied and absolutely ground us for lying and sneaking out. So many options that lead to the same outcome. What to do, what to do." He muttered to himself.

Jyushi, though unconscious, leaned a bit more into Kara's hoodie as he shivered, despite having a coat layered over his own hoodie. It wasn't long before he was shivering in Kara's arms and let out a kitten-like sneeze. The fifth brother clutched onto Kara's clothes tighter, and Kara noticed that his knuckles were white as he trembled, as well as sweating.

Ichi wasn't being obvious, but he was deadly worried, with his constant screaming and fussing almost like Choro internally. First, his little brother had been badly injured, with either his blood or someone else's staining his shorts. Second, he was probably catching a fever due to wearing shorts and a hoodie that layered over nothing besides his body, as well as being exposed to the coldness of the night. "Shittymatsu, we have to go in already. Jyushi's freezing, and won't mom and dad pretty much freak out if we go any later than we already have? Can we even get grounded, we're like twenty one years old." He said, a bit too quickly for his own good.

"We do live under the same room as the woman who gave birth to us and is still preparing snacks for us daily because we cannot function as proper adults without each other." Sighed Kara. "We're still living under her rules. But you are absolutely correct, brother. We should just face the consequences for not telling them we were heading out this late at night. This is for our own sake and Jyushi's."

Ichi didn't want to deal with his older brother's cringe-worthy presence and his painful atmosphere with thankfully no use of poetic vocabulary, so he slid the door open and expected their angry parents sitting on cushions with crossed arms and stern expressions. But instead, he found both his parents, Matsuno Matsuyo and Matsuno Matsuzo, sitting on cushions worriedly. Probably worrying about their six NEETs, their six, inseparable children, who were supposedly adults with mindsets of either middle-schoolers on a phase, or elementary students trying to act like grown ups.

When they caught sight of three of their six children, Matsuyo immediately rushed to Karamatsu and placed her hand on Jyushi's forehead. "Ichimatsu, Karamatsu! What happened to my little Jyushimatsu?! Where have you two been?! Where.. where are the other three? Osomatsu, Choromatsu, and Todomatsu.." She was panicking like Choro, but unlike the third brother, she was actually trying calm instead of pointlessly making assumptions and screaming hysterically. Where did Choro get the overly fussy and loud mother hen part of his personality? Can't be the mom's.. it must have came from dad, as weird as it sounded.

"Mom, uh, kinda a long story?" Ichi tried to reason, as Kara was busy carrying Jyushi while trying to calm down their mother and father. "But Osomatsu-niisan and the other two are going to stop by a convenience store to get some extra supplies and maybe some snacks. We'll try to change Jyushi's clothes and clean up any wounds."

"You go do that. Your mother and I will get a basin and cloth, as well as some tea." Matsuzo told the two of them. Though he knew his sons were adults now, Jyushi was still much of a child himself and needed to be watched if he acted oddly within hours of not coming home. This was one of the reasons why; the fifth son of Matsuzo and Matsuyo could accidentally bring trouble upon himself. "Bring Jyushimatsu to your room. We will discuss everything later, but for now, let's make sure your little brother is okay."

They were both thankful that they didn't receive a lecture right where they stood, since they both needed the warmth of the household heaters instead of the coolness of the summer night breeze. Kara once again adjusted Jyushi to his arms and headed to the stairs as Ichi closed the door and made sure that it wasn't locked, so that the other three could go inside without having to bang on the door. Matsuyo headed to the kitchen to prepare a kettle, both for the tea and presumably the water for the basin, while Matsuzo looked around the cabinets for a clean washcloth and rubbing alcohol.

There were no supplies in the first aid kit, in which Matsuzo was honestly impressed that Osomatsu payed enough attention to what their household lacked; the eldest was going to get some bandages, which was one of the most important things he's probably done in his entire life, besides managing to get away from that robber that held him hostage. He did wonder if Oso or the other two had any money on them though.

Ichi noticed Jyushi's untouched yellow bowl from earlier during dinner, so he decided to bring it along with his yellow chopsticks, just in case the fifth brother were to wake up. He set it down on the floor, but far away from where the brothers usually ran around so it wouldn't get kicked by accident. Ichi pulled the comforter out of the bed as Kara gently set down Jyushi on the futon and placed his head on his pillow. He removed Jyushi's coat and folded it as he set it to the side. "Brother, could you get his pajamas? Hm, I might have to sew his hoodie later."

"Just as long as there aren't any sequins or glitters." Ichi grumbled. It didn't really matter whose pajamas he grabbed; they were sextuplets and they basically had the same clothes, since they had the same body figure, height, weight, and everything. They were all the same in terms of appearance, with only slight differences being Jyushi's single cowlick accompanied by his crazed eyes and wide smile, Oso's rather default expression, Choro's lack of idiot hair and his triangular mouth, Kara's unusually thick eyebrows, Totty's large eyes and cat-like smile, and Ichi's scruffy hair and half-lidded eyes. But their body type, height, and weight all seemed the same, no matter how much one lazed around the house or how much time they spent exercising.

As Ichi rummaged through their shared drawer, Kara gently slid off Jyushi's dirtied socks from his ankles. He then remembered that they accidentally left Jyushi's slippers at the park. They'd worry about that later, because Ichi would most likely lend Jyushi's some of his purple slippers anyway. He then gently grabbed Jyushi's arms and tugged on the hem of his hoodie to pull it off, a certain sight making Kara squint; the same area Oso kicked months ago was still there, but thankfully, fading. But there were new bruises decorating his body, as well as a wound that seemed to have bled earlier which had slightly stained Jyushi's hoodie. Next was the shorts, which had some blood stains. He simply lifted Jyushi's legs in order to slip them off.

Kara placed Jyushi's dirty clothes to the side of the futon as Ichi helped him slip Jyushi into his pajama pants. As for the top, they'd leave it unbuttoned for awhile, just so they could clean the fifth brother's chest area. Jyushi had a somewhat pained expression as he panted in his sleep, which made Kara's big brother instincts place his own hand over to Jyushi's forehead. "Oh, fuck." Kara cursed. How could he not have noticed earlier? Ichi was right; staying in the outside for too long resulted to something that could burden Jyushi even more. "He's got a fever. Probably a bad one."

"You go get the thermometer." Ichi commanded, seeing as how Kara had already asked him enough favors to last a lifetime. Probably. "I'll see if there's any changes."

Kara nodded as he left the room, leaving Ichi to his own thoughts and to an injured and sick brother. Gently, he ran his fingers through his brother's disheveled hair to make his presence known to his unconscious younger brother. The sextuplets rarely got sick, much less got sick individually. When only Jyushi was sick, the household was quiet due to the lack of a hyper ball of sunshine bouncing around. Oso and Ichi would talk to him, Totty and Choro would read him stories found either in books or the internet, while Kara sung him melodies they'd made together. Jyushi would often be up in less than a week.

Ichi wasn't sure of that now. Other than a fever, he had multiple bruises decorating his body as he breathed harshly in his own sleep. Ichi wanted to find the person or people that laid a finger on his little brother. Scratch that, he wanted to hunt them down and make sure they suffered. Ichi would hold a grudge for as long as he could remember, and when he and Jyushi's attacker's paths crossed, it would seem that the world would have another murderer on their hands.

Oso might have been calm and collected about it, but they knew the wrath of the eldest brother was the scariest, scarier than Kara's or Ichi's combined. It was wrath that Oso directed to anyone who'd be stupid enough to mess with his little brothers. Totty could be really scary when you push the right buttons too, and doing so will result to personal information being leaked on the offender's social media accounts. Physically, however, you might lose a tooth or two, as well as a black eye. Kara only required to see the suffering or fear of his brothers to actually get pissed. Choro was the one who lost his temper the most, and him reacting violently wasn't anything new.

Jyushi stirred a bit, causing Ichi to slowly take his own hand back out of surprise. Carefully, he extended another hand towards Jyushi, this time it was aiming for his face. He gently stroked his younger brother's cheek, since Jyushi stirring meant he was either in pain while unconscious, or having a nightmare. Or worse, both. "Jyushi." Talking might help Jyushi notice the presence of one of his five brothers.

To Ichi's relief, surprise, happiness, and basically all his emotions mixed into one indescribable feeling, Jyushi's eyes cracked open weakly. It almost seemed as if Jyushi was forcing himself to stay awake, but his harsh breathing wasn't making things easier for him. Ichi leaned a bit towards Jyushi to block the light, noticing how much trouble it was causing for his little brother's eyes. "I-Ichimatsu-niisan..? Wh-where.. where am I..?" He rasped out.

"Hey, Jyushi. You're back at home." Ichi tried to smile. Jyushi's wasn't present, and that wasn't a good sign. Jyushi had always smiled for everyone, so the least Ichi could do was to smile for both of them. He used the same hand he used to stroke Jyushi's cheek to hold his brother's hand, flinching at how cold it was. "Are you okay now? What happened back there?"

Ichi then felt his fake smile falter; Jyushi was now tearing up. Wait, what did he say? Why was Jyushi crying now? Did he say something wrong? Or was he in pain? Ichi was panicking, the last time Jyushi was seen crying was back when that country girl left the city to possibly never return, but he didn't even know why Jyushi was tearing up. "I'm sorry." Jyushi softly said, before he felt his vision darken. Ichi couldn't comprehend those two words even as Jyushi passed out again.

If he was Choro, he would have grabbed Jyushi by the shoulders and frantically asked him what he was sorry for. But he wasn't. He was Ichimatsu Matsuno, supposedly the demon of darkness of the Matsuno household, number one pessimist, and unburnable garbage that has absolutely zero will to live another day on earth if it weren't for his brothers and the cats he befriended. But even if he was heartless trash, there was now way he'd pretend that Jyushi never woke up and suddenly told him that.

Matsuzo, Matsuyo, and Kara came to the room minutes later. Matsuzo gently set down eight mugs of hot tea while Matsuyo set down the basin and a clean washcloth. Kara wiped the yellow thermometer for the tenth time with his own hoodie as he gently slipped it in Jyushi's mouth, setting a glittery blue box right next to him. Ichi remembered that it was Kara's sewing box. "Ichimatsu, were there any changes?" Asked Kara distractedly as he helped their mother place the cloth on Jyushi's burning head.

No use sugar-coating it now. "He woke up and passed out." Ichi said simply.

His parents and older brother turned to him, all in shock. "What?!" Kara gasped. "Did he say anything?! A name of an attacker?! Anything at all?!"

"He said he was sorry."

..Okay now that made no sense at all.


End file.
